CHICAGO – The Chicago Reporter has received a $500,000, two-year grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support strategic planning for the longtime investigative news organization that focuses on race and poverty.

The grant is a significant investment in the Reporter’s growth and development at a time when race has reemerged as a central issue in public policy in Chicago and the nation.

“We’re proud that the Reporter has had MacArthur’s support over the years,” said Susan Smith Richardson, editor and publisher of The Chicago Reporter. “This new grant deepens that longtime relationship at just the right time: We are moving forward with a digital strategy that will help put us in the middle of today’s conversations about race and inequality and have a bigger impact on covering these issues.”

MacArthur’s contribution is the single-largest grant to the Reporter since the nonprofit investigative news organization was founded in 1972. The Reporter will use the funds to expand staff and training, as well as explore partnerships with other news organizations.

“For decades, the Reporter has brought many underreported issues about the intersection of race and public policies to the forefront of local, state and national political agendas,” said Kathy Im, director, journalism and media for the MacArthur Foundation. “Under the leadership of Susan Smith Richardson, we expect the Reporter to continue to pursue its high-impact journalism with even greater intensity and rigor.”

Founded by civil rights activist John A. McDermott, who worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during his fair housing campaign in Chicago in 1966, the Reporter uses database journalism to investigate racial injustice. Earlier this year, the organization embarked on a major upgrade to its website to further showcase its award-winning investigative journalism.